Raids go on even at night
New Straits Times – 16 hours agoRELATED CONTENT
- Raids go on even at night
ILLEGAL CIGARETTES: Customs officers extend checks beyond daylight hours in Op Outlet
KUALA LUMPUR: THE Customs Department continued its aggressive stance against the illicit cigarette trade with 26 outlets raided last week.
These included 11 such outlets raided at night, the first time that Op Outlet had been conducted beyond daylight hours.
The night raids, on Friday, were conducted in Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Port Klang.
Among those checked were Pasar Mini 78 in Taman Bercham Jaya, Ipoh; Restoran Abdul Hassan in Ampang; two roadside stalls at the Seri Kedah and Seri Langkawi flats in Danau Kota, Kuala Lumpur; and, two sundry shops at Pangsapuri Seri Perantau in Port Klang.
During the raids in Ampang and Danau Kota, the Federal Territory Customs Department detained a restaurant worker and operators of two stalls. They seized more than 6,000 sticks of illicit cigarettes in the raids carried out simultaneously at 11.30pm. All three of those detained were foreigners, from India and Indonesia.
The seized contraband brands were Gudang Garam, John, L.A., D&G, Virginia Star, Nusantara, League, Canyon, Luffman, Zone King and June. Ten officers were involved in the raid that ended at 2.30am.
In Port Klang, officers detained the owners of two sundry shops, one of whom was a woman.
Selangor Customs Department spokesman Azmi Yahya said officers also checked another sundry shop but found that it was not selling illicit cigarettes.
Op Outlet aims to reduce the sale of smuggled cigarettes, estimated to be RM1.9 billion a year.
The Customs Department officially launched the nationwide intensive enforcement operation on March 5.
"The illegal cigarette trade is a business that funds criminal syndicates to finance even more serious crimes, like drug and human trafficking, as well as weapons smuggling.
"That is why we will continue this intensive operation until the end of the year," said Azmi.
During the raid, one of the two shop owners detained, a single mother, was seen begging Customs officers not to detain her.
Despite admitting knowing that selling illegal cigarettes was against the law, the Penangite said she was only trying to make a living raising her daughter after both of them were abandoned by her drug addict husband, who is from Aceh.
She was released on bail but the male shop owner was remanded.
Op Outlet will see those found to be selling illicit cigarettes arrested, remanded and eventually charged, with the department intent on pushing for jail terms for those found guilty.
The Health Ministry, in support of Op Outlet, last month warned the public that illicit cigarettes were at least twice as harmful as legal ones as they had high levels of poisonous chemicals, such as arsenic and cadmium. Additional reporting by Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah
